


Emma Swan's Bad Day

by valkyriewarcry



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Age Play, Discipline, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Consensual Spanking, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pregnancy, Sibling Jealousy, Spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-02-08 21:05:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1956117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valkyriewarcry/pseuds/valkyriewarcry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little Emma can’t seem to behave, but Snow and Regina think there is more going on than the girl is willing to say. Helping Emma open up requires both discipline and positive attention.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I proof-read all of my own work, so all mistakes are my own. Also, this is possibly AU/canon divergent from season 2b, as it ignores Zelena's presence/actions in Storybrooke.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time.
> 
> Warning: This story contains non-sexual ageplay and disciplinary spanking. If you do not like those things, then do not read this story.

Chapter 1

 _Stupid corner,_  Emma thinks as she glowers at the dark trees on the wallpaper in front of her.

Emma doesn't think Miss Regina is being very nice—at least not today.

"Stupid corner," she mutters under her breath in a rush of confidence that makes her heart beat a little faster. However, the blonde girl peers through the corner of her eye to make sure Regina didn't hear her.

She counts to fifteen in her head before whispering the words slightly louder.

She does this two more times, using a louder voice each time. Miss Regina finally hears her.

Her tummy flip flops as her babysitter's shoes thump on the floor closer and closer to her spot in the corner. Maybe she shouldn't have spoken out loud. Miss Regina is very strict about making sure Emma stays silent during time outs.

"Why are you making noise, young lady?" Emma pictures Miss Regina standing behind her with her arms crossed over her chest. That's the way Mama always stands when Emma is in a lot of trouble at home. Emma named it the Rain Cloud stance because whenever adults look at her from that position, they are about to drop an even worse punishment on her and ruin her day just like a rain storm would.

"I just wanted you to hear me," Emma whines as she tilts her head back to pout at Miss Regina over her shoulder. Her imagination is correct, since the mayor has her arms folded in front of her.

"Well, if you truly needed my attention, that was not the way to get it," Miss Regina said in a stern voice.

Usually, that tone would scare Emma into behaving immediately, but today Emma is sick of being reprimanded and treated like a pest by all of her caretakers. She can't stop the anger from bubbling up and spewing out of her mouth in the form of a bratty comment.

"You're being mean to me all the time, so I'm just making it even by being mean to you, too!"

She isn't quick enough to dodge the smacks aimed at her backside, leaving her to squeal and squirm in response.

"Maybe this is the kind of attention you need, hm?" Something about Miss Regina's serious tone of voice makes her angrier.

"Ow! No!"

Regina only gives her five spanks, but to Emma each one feels like a bolt of lightning aimed at her bottom. Tears nearly spill out of her green eyes, but Emma holds them at bay until she is turned back toward the corner again.

Emma wishes she could melt into the creepy white and black wallpaper and disappear from the office. Then she could run away from her mean babysitter and find her mama or daddy. Emma imagines them giving her lots of hugs when they see her coming home early, but then the young girl remembers how annoyed Mama had been earlier in the morning before she dropped Emma off at Miss Regina's work place. Maybe Mama wouldn't want to give Emma hugs today. She had seemed very eager to get Emma out of her hair. Thinking about this only makes Emma feel like crying more.

A steady flow of tears trail down Emma's cheeks as she begins to feel more and more sorry for herself.

A horrible thought comes into Emma's head. What if Mama decides to spank Emma for being naughty and annoying? Her backside tingles where Miss Regina swatted her, but Emma knows extra spanks will make it hurt worse. Mama only threatens to spank her little girl; she's never actually punished Emma that way—Miss Regina is the only person who has ever spanked her. Still, Emma wonders if she has been especially bad today, since first Mama sent her away, and then Miss Regina gave her more than one kind of punishment.

And, even though Emma is just now learning how to tell time, she can read the clock on the wall well enough to tell that it's only twelve o'clock, which means there is still a long time for Emma to earn more punishments until Mama comes to pick her up.

She frowns deeply and hugs her arms around herself as she continues to cry silently until her time out ends.

* * *

 

Regina lets Emma out of the corner ten minutes later. She takes one look at Emma's tear-stained face before she has a fistful of tissues in her hand as she crouches down in front of the little girl. The blonde's face heats up in embarrassment as her caretaker wipes her cheeks.

"Your corner time is over, Emma, but I don't want you to keep breaking the rules. You were in time out because you were being disrespectful and rude, even after I asked you to quiet down. I swatted you because you weren't obeying your rules of time out. There was no reason for you to yell at me with such a bad attitude. Look at me, Emma," Regina softly commands. Emma's big green eyes are filled with tears again, but Miss Regina catches them in the tissue before they fall. "I want you to apologize for being naughty."

"I'm sorry for being rude," she says quietly. Miss Regina has such an intense gaze that it makes Emma sort of nervous to look into her brown eyes, but once the words leave her mouth, her caretaker pulls her into a quick hug.

"Thank you. You're forgiven, sweetheart. Let's have a good day now, alright?"

Though she is not filled with enthusiasm, Emma nods along and wanders back over to the big table on the other side of the office. She reaches for her coloring book and opens to the half-finished picture of a knight and a castle before grabbing a silver crayon and swiping it over the knight's armor. Deciding she doesn't want Regina's attention after all, Emma sits in silence until the mayor tells her to go wash up for lunch.

Sometime after eating, Emma decides she wants to go home and test her luck with her mother and father. Miss Regina is no longer being mean, but the lady is still plenty boring. All she does is open manila folders and write all over the papers in black pen. Emma has to sit at another table quietly and read books or color pictures. Those things become super boring super quickly, not to mention that it's so quiet that Emma can hear the clock ticking on the wall. It makes Emma wish her babysitter had a TV in her office. Spongebob and Adventure Time are never this dull.

"I wanna go to Mama's house," Emma announces through pouting lips.

"If I take you to your Mama's house right now, your Mama will put you straight to bed for the way you've been behaving all day," Miss Regina says without looking up from her papers. The idea of more discipline puts knots in Emma's stomach. "Now, I know that as much as you want to get away from me at the moment," Emma wants to scream that this is exactly right… "you also don't want to be sent to bed early, so why don't I invite your Mama to come to my house for dinner? That way you can see her without being in trouble right away," her babysitter suggests. She's still using her serious voice, but it doesn't sound as harsh anymore.

Even so, Emma regards her for several seconds as though she doesn't trust Miss Regina's words. Soon enough, though, the young girl agrees to the mayor's plan.

"Are we going there soon?" she asks, absentmindedly rubbing a green crayon inside the lines of a cartoon dragon in her coloring book.

"Yes, dear. I have a little more work to do, but we can leave in about another hour." The lady points to the clock on the wall, and Emma's gaze follows. "When the small hand reaches the 4, it will be time for us to go. Will you be my time keeper?"

Emma sighs in annoyance, but she says yes anyway. Adults take forever!

* * *

 

At six-thirty, Regina answers the front door to let Snow White inside her house on Mifflin Street. As the younger woman passes through the entryway, Regina rushes forward to help her up the steps to dining room. She can't keep her eyes from wandering down to the large baby bump that seems to be expanding each and every day they see one another.

Snow White is pregnant. Very pregnant. Seven and half months, to be exact. The woman's mental and physical exhaustion are apparent in her lackluster appearance and slow, defeated movements. Recently, Snow confided in Regina that on top of feeling bloated, sweaty, heavy, tired, irritable, and achy, her mentally-regressed daughter keeps trying her patience with wild antics. Snow suspects her child's clingy, aggressive, and bratty behavior has something to do with the new sibling on the way, and she has told Regina as much, but Emma won't open up to anyone in either her little kid mindset or her adult life. David seems to think their daughter will sort it all out in her own time, but Snow doesn't believe that constructive parenting mean leaving her child in an emotional labyrinth without offering a guiding hand. Her step-mother suggested she drop a hard line and establish some boundaries quickly before the baby arrives and disrupts their crumbling family dynamic even more.

Though Snow is feeling a bit lost and entirely inexperienced, she decides it is time for a change. They've tried Charming's way. Now Snow vows to take a more hands-on approach to parenting, per Regina's advice, to correct Emma's behavior problems and amend her emotional instability.

She sits down at the dining room table, and Regina joins her, though there is no food in front of them yet. Snow shoots Regina a questioning look.

"We need to talk about your daughter's behavior today before we eat," Regina says bluntly. Her hands brush through her dark hair once before resting clasped on the table. "She's been skirting a spanking the entire time she's been with me. I don't know if she was just nervous when you dropped her off, but she completely ignored my attempts at conversation for the first hour she was in the office. She eventually told me about your rough morning, which seemed to rile her up all over again to the point where I sent her to the corner for her bad attitude. Her behavior improved after lunch but deteriorated again once we arrived here this evening."

The whirlwind of events did not surprise Snow, given how Emma had been whining and aggressive that morning, but she did feel a pang of disappointment in response to hearing about more snags from the rest of the day.

"I'm sorry she's been such a handful. I probably should have taken care of her bad behavior the minute it started to show this morning. Everything was just so frazzled this morning, and I couldn't get a quiet minute to take her aside and reprimand her properly." Snow rests her face in her hands in momentary defeat and exasperation, but Regina reaches out to pull one arm down so Snow will look at her. Once the tired woman acquiesces, Regina speaks again.

"Sometimes you can't wait for the right moment to come; you have to make it happen no matter how busy or hectic your day is. It is important to enforce discipline, Snow, because it shows your daughter you have time for her. And I think you might also be forgetting to show her some good attention, too. There needs to be a balance, or she will never fully trust you enough to open up."

After taking a shaky breath to will back her tears, Snow says, "This is so hard. I feel so inadequate."

"You have to decide that this is worth it, Snow. Be a better mother for her sake…and for yours."

"You're right. Things change starting now," Snow states, nodding.

Regina does not smile, but she inclines her head slightly and untightens her lips, which Snow thinks is close enough. The mayor leaves to bring Emma and their meal into the dining room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for hanging in there. This is the final chapter!

Dinner starts out tense, since Emma won’t speak to her mother beyond offering her a hello. The girl is eating slowly, too. Both actions are signs of her uneasiness.

Snow has yet to mention her knowledge of Emma’s misbehavior during her time in Regina’s care. She convinces herself that it would be unfair to embarrass her daughter while she is eating, which will only make her shut out her mother more.

This stand-off between mother and daughter leaves Regina trying to engage the two in basic small talk, but she gives up after ten minutes of close-ended answers to her queries.

The irritating rattle of silverware on plates fills the dining room, in addition to filling Regina with sadness and helplessness akin to what she felt during the awkward years with Henry leading up to Emma Swan’s arrival in Storybrooke.

She’s grateful when it comes time to clear the dishes from the table, and she retreats to the kitchen with one last meaningful look in Snow’s direction, nudging the woman to take charge now.

-

“How was your day, sweetheart?”

Emma shrugs.

“I was bored.”

“Were you a good girl today?” Snow asks gently, reaching across the huge table for her daughter’s hand, but Emma avoids the gesture by pulling her hands into her lap.  
Emma’s tongue pokes out as she licks her lips, trying to decide how to answer. The girl stalls by taking a big gulp of water and wiping her mouth with her sleeve. She peeks up at her mother with big, uncertain eyes. Snow hardens her gaze a little as the seconds pass.

Eventually, Emma answers, “I guess I was naughty.”

“Will you tell me what happened?”

“You’ll get mad,” her daughter responds with a shake of her head.

“Sweetheart, I’m not mad, but I want you to tell me what happened today when you were with Regina. I know you weren’t in the best mood when I dropped you off. In fact, you were quite rude to me this morning, and it disappoints me to hear from Regina that you continued to misbehave for her. I’m giving you a chance to tell me what happened from your point of view now before I decide how much trouble you’re in.”

“I don’t want to be in trouble,” Emma says in a sad tone.

“Tell me what happened, Emma,” Snow presses.

After frowning for a bit, Emma eventually says, “I was rude to Miss Regina in the morning, so I got a time-out and a few swats. But that’s all! I promise I was good the rest of the time with her.”

“Didn’t I tell you to change your attitude into a better one when I dropped you off at the mayor’s office this morning?” Snow can hear how tired she sounds, and she wills herself stay strong. If she wavers now, Emma will catch on and try to reason her way out of a punishment.

Emma drags her finger through the ring of water left on the table by her cup and doesn’t answer beyond shrugging her shoulders.

“I did. I told you that I would be very disappointed if you got in trouble for a bad attitude with Miss Regina.” She sees Emma frown deeply now. “What’s my rule about respect?”

“I don’t know. I forgot.”

Snow is quickly losing her patience at Emma’s petulance. The girl sways slightly in her seat as she seems to be swinging her legs back and forth under the table. On top of that, she’s still not looking at Snow and is pouting intensely.

“Emma Swan, stop fidgeting and answer me truthfully.”

The sharp tone in Snow’s voice is not one Emma has heard before, and it shocks her daughter into peering up at her with wide eyes.

“What is my rule about respect?”

“I shouldn’t be disrespectful to anyone taking care of me.”

“And you broke that rule several times today. First, you yelled at me and ignored my instructions this morning. Then, you were being disruptive at Regina’s office.”  
“But you sent me away.” Emma’s sullen tone prompts Snow to get up from her chair and pull Emma’s out from the table so she can crouch in front of her. She’ll need help to stand back up, but Snow ignores that for now.

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I did not mean to make you feel that way. Didn’t I tell you that Mama had to run errands that would be very boring for you?” Snow finally grasps Emma’s hand in a loving manner and reaches up with her other hand to wipe at the stray tears on her child’s cheek.

“But I wanna be with you,” Emma whispers.

Snow realizes her mistake now. Emma had been vying for attention all day, and her mother had denied her. She opens her arms, and her little girl burrows into her as much as she can around the baby bump.

“You and me need to spend more time together, huh?” Snow asks. After Emma nods against her in response, she continues, “I’m sorry I left you out today. I know I’ve been busy getting ready for your little brother to arrive, but I will try to do a better job of paying attention to you with special Mama time now and after he’s born. I love you so much, Emma.”

“Love you too, Mama,” Emma answers before turning her head to kiss Snow on the cheek. “Sorry I was naughty.”

As much as Snow would like to keep cuddling her little one, she knows that she must follow through on disciplining her daughter and teaching her how to improve her behavior. Pulling back from the hug but still holding on Emma’s arms, Snow speaks in a slightly stern tone.

“Sweetheart, you have to remember to use your words when you’re upset. Regina and I want you to make good choices about your behavior, and being disrespectful instead of talking to one of us when something is wrong is not ok.”

Her blonde-haired daughter peers up at her with a worried look.

“I’m still in trouble?”

“Yes, Emma,” Snow says, steeling herself for the next part. “You’re going to get a spanking when we get home.”

“No! Mama, please, no!”

“From now on, when you misbehave and break my big rules, you’re going to be spanked.”

Shaking her head in dismay, Emma turns away from Snow to stare at her water glass.

Knowing Emma will continue to ignore her and fight her on this, Snow chooses to let her daughter’s bad attitude go without comment. Her little girl will accept her punishment once it’s happening, and Snow thinks it might be time to go home and quickly finish it up.

“Ok, Emma, please bring your water cup into the kitchen, so we can help Miss Regina clean up. Then we can say goodbye.”

Emma really, really doesn’t want to go home now. She decides not to talk to Mama as she grabs her water cup and both hands and stomps to the kitchen.

“Now what’s this grumpy face for, little miss? I know you’re not going to give your mama a hard time after she told her you’re already in trouble, are you?” Emma snaps her gaze up to Miss Regina, who looks a bit funny in her white apron holding a sponge at the sink. The words Miss Regina said make Emma’s tummy feel knotted up in a bad way, and her cheeks turn pink. Her caretaker knows exactly what she is doing by ignoring her mama, and it sounds like she will tell Mama if she doesn’t stop right now.

Miss Regina takes the cup from her hands and places it and the sponge in the sink. Emma is surprised when her babysitter wraps her in a hug. Wasn’t she just in trouble?

“I know you’ve had a rough day, Emma. But remember that I’ve already forgiven you for your bad behavior earlier. And your mama wouldn’t take the time to correct you if she didn’t love you,” she whispers in Emma’s ear before turning her loose.

 -

Emma thinks the car ride home is the fastest in history because very soon Mama is opening the car door and unbuckling Emma’s seatbelt. They walk inside the apartment, which is spooky and dark until Mama turns on the lights. Daddy had to work something called a “double shift,” which Emma knows means he won’t be home until the morning.

All thoughts of Daddy flee from her head as soon as Mama calls her over to the living room in a stern voice. With wide eyes and her heart beating a million times a second, Emma slowly walks to the couch.

“Emma, I am going to take care of your spanking now. This will be quick, then you and I can snuggle before I give you a bath and read to you in bed, just like normal. I already told you why are going to be spanked, but I want you to remember this for a while. You were rude to me this morning and continued to have a bad attitude around Miss Regina. That is unacceptable and you will not disrespect adults like that again, young lady,” Mama says.

Mama sounds so disappointed that Emma feels tears flooding her eyes already! She also feels kinda of scared because Mama has never spanked her before. Will she be super strict like Miss Regina? Emma stares at her red converse and watches them turn blurry as tears start to fall from her eyes. She hates being in trouble and feeling sad! Disappointing Mama is the worst. She won’t be disrespectful ever again.

“Sweetheart, I want you to go get your baby blanket. You can snuggle it during your spanking,” Mama instructs.

Emma brushes the wetness from her eyes quickly and scurries up the stairs to her bedroom to grab her most treasured possession. Her blankie has never failed to comfort her during scary times, and she is glad Mama is going to let her hold onto it now. After she grabs the wool item, she realizes her spanking is going to happen _now_ …and she takes the stairs super slowly on the way down, putting both feet on a step before moving to the next one. Mama must not notice she’s being sort of sneaky because she doesn’t say anything about how long it is taking Emma to come back down.

When Mama tells Emma to bend over the back of the couch, the pounding in her heart get very, very loud again.

“If I need to spank you again, I will put you over my knee like Miss Regina does. Right now, the baby would make it very difficult to hold you on my lap. I’m still going to keep a hand on your back to make sure you stay in position, sweetheart, but I want you to try to lay still, ok?”

Emma nods to make sure Mama knows she heard her, but the words sound very far away as she hangs her head down into her blanket. Her legs tighten up when she feels Mama pulling down her leggings and panties. She frowns a deep frown because she knows Miss Regina probably told Mama to spank her on her bare bottom. Bare bottom spankings are the most terrible, awful punishments ever!

Emma fists her hands into the baby blanket, clutching the soft wool close to her face when the first swat lands on her bottom. She tries not to count, thinking maybe her punishment will end quicker if she doesn’t really pay attention. But the spanks make her bottom start to _sting_ really fast, and she grunts into the blanket as the second, third, and fourth smacks fall.

She is not going to cry. She won’t cry. She doesn’t want to cry!

Miss Regina only gives her ten swats when she spanks, and that’s if she’s been extremely naughty, but Mama said she was going to give Emma fourteen smacks. Emma doesn’t know her times tables very well, but she remembers that 7 times 2 is fourteen and that is two times how old she is.

Swats five and six fall on the same spot, and Emma really doesn’t like that!

“Ow!” she yells, and without thinking she lets her hand fly back to cover her panties.

“Emma, that is very unsafe! I could hurt your hand on accident. Do I need to hold your hand?” Mama asks.

All Emma can do is nod, but Mama sees and grasps her hand, pulling it out of the way of her bottom. Emma is glad to have Mama holding her, but it also means her bottom can be spanked again.

When the next smack comes down, Emma can’t keep the tears back anymore.

“Mommy, please…” she whimpers, but Mama doesn’t tell her she’ll stop yet.

“Halfway through, baby girl,” she soothes. That voice would help Emma calm down if she wasn’t in the middle of a spanking. Still, being called “baby girl” makes Emma feel very loved and special.

Emma buries her face into the blanket in her hand and squeezes Mama’s hand tighter with her own. She doesn’t like this at all! As Mama gives her more spanks, she cries out and kicks her legs. She wants her Mama to stop!

“Ow, not there! NO!” Emma cries as she feels a few stinging swats on her sit spots. She knows it won’t help to kick a lot, but her legs do it on their own, even though Mama is telling her to stay still.

Finally, Mama gives her the last spank, and she lets go of Emma’s hand to rub her back. Emma wants to jump up right away, but Mama doesn’t let her.

“Stay here for a minute, sweetheart. Just take a second to think about your punishment and calm down.”

Emma just snuggles further into her blanket as she finishes crying and reaches a hand behind her to rub her bottom. It’s so hot and stingy! It feels like she sat on a campfire.

“I want you to understand that all the adults who take care of you deserve respect. We love you and want to keep you happy and healthy, Emma. It’s ok for you to feel angry or sad or annoyed sometimes, but you do not get to use that as an excuse to treat people with disrespect,” Mama lectures. “I spanked you because you were purposefully rude to me this morning, and you didn’t listen to me when I told you to change your attitude before you went to be with Regina.”

Mama doesn’t sound mad, but she sounds serious still. Emma knows that she should apologize now.

“I’m sorry, Mama,” Emma’s voice sounds a little wet because she is still crying a bit.

“You’re forgiven, sweetheart. Do you want to get up now?”

“Yeah.”

She is put on her feet by her mama and then Mama pulls up her underwear and pants. Emma can’t help but let out a whine at the feel of her cotton leggings tightening around her legs and bottom, but at least she is covered up now.

Mama gets up to bring her some tissues and a glass of water, and it feels nice when Mama wipes her face and kisses her cheeks.

Then, Emma climbs back on the couch because she wants a cuddle now. Usually, she is annoyed after a spanking, but now her body just feels tired and droopy, and she is glad her punishment is over. Mama hands Emma her baby blanket, and Emma breathes a sigh of relief into it.

“Next time, sweetheart, use your words to respectfully let an adult know why you are upset instead of acting naughty, ok?” Mama tells her as Emma snuggles into her arms.

They stay cuddled on the couch for a while. Emma tucks her head against Snow’s neck, and her mother runs her fingers through Emma’s blonde hair in a way that makes Emma feel cared for and loved.

“Mommy?” Emma asks in a sleepy voice.

“Yes, baby girl?” Mama answers.

“Will I still be your baby girl when the new baby comes?” Emma has felt too scared to ever ask this question before. She loves Mommy and Daddy, and they tell her they love her all the time, but she isn’t sure if a new baby will change that.

“Of course, Emma! You will always be my baby girl. Daddy and I will love you forever. When a new baby comes into this family, our love will multiply and grow, not shrink or get pulled away from you,” Mama reassures before kissing Emma’s cheek.

Somehow, Emma knows that Mama’s words aren’t always true in all families, but Mama’s voice sounds warm and like she should believe her.

“Daddy and I will be busy at first because little babies need a lot of care, but we will still have time for you. You and I will still snuggle like this, and I’ll do my best to read to you every night and tuck you in with your baby blanket.”

Emma nods against her Mama’s chest, and she reaches down to put a hand on Mama’s huge belly, where the baby is growing.

“Ok.”

“Is that why you were naughty this morning? Have you been thinking about this a lot, sweetheart?” Mama asks quietly while rubbing Emma’s back in a way that makes her feel tingly and relaxed.

Emma nods again, not really having the words to explain to Mama that she is scared for when the new baby comes. She knows about sharing toys, but she doesn’t want to share something as important as her parents!

“I’m sorry I had to talk to the doctor on the phone this morning instead of play with your knights and horses figures, Emma. Sometimes things to do with the baby will need my attention right away, but that doesn’t mean I will forget about you. You can tell me when you are upset that I get distracted or when you need me to spend time with you. But now you know you are not allowed to be disrespectful when you try to let an adult know.”

Emma shifts a bit as she thinks about her sore bottom at the mention of disrespect again. She will definitely try her hardest to use words instead of angry actions from now on. Even if finding the right words is pretty hard!

“I love you, Emma. Nothing will change that. You are the greatest blessing of my life so far,” Mama says.

Emma smiles at these words, and she lets herself melt fully into Mam’s embrace.

“I love you, too, Mama.”


End file.
